Freedom Caucus Cartoons

EPA chief: Trump to undo Obama plan to curb global warming

EPA chief Scott Pruitt

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says President Donald Trump in the coming days will sign a new executive order that unravels his predecessor's sweeping plan to curb global warming.
EPA chief Scott Pruitt says the executive order to be signed Tuesday will undo the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, an environmental regulation that restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants.
The 2015 rule has been on hold since last year while a federal appeals court considers a challenge by coal-friendly Republican-led states and more than 100 companies.
Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Pruitt said Trump's intention is to bring back coal-mining jobs and reduce the cost of electricity.
Supporters of former President Barack Obama's plan say it would spur thousands of clean-energy jobs.

Kushner to lead new WH office focused on using business ideas to fix gov't bureaucracy

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, will be tapped to lead a new White House office that will effort to use business solutions to fix “government stagnation”, a senior White House official told Fox News Sunday.
"We can confirm we are making an announcement tomorrow to establish the White House office of American Innovation and look forward to sharing additional details," the official said.
The office will be filled by former business executives and seeks to bring in new thinking into Washington, the Washington Post reported. The Post first reported that Kushner would head the new office.
“We should have excellence in government,” Kushner said. “The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens.”
Trump told the newspaper that the office would focus on fixing “government stagnation.” It will have the authority to overhaul federal bureaucracy and fulfill campaign promises – such as reforming health care for veterans and fighting opioid addition. Kushner would report directly to Trump.
Kushner hopes to bring in aggressive, nonideological views into team and he seeks talent from inside and outside Washington. The Post reported that the office is focused primarily on technology and data and is working with Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gate, Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk.
Some of the tech giants have openly criticized Trump’s policies but insist they are eager to help the administration with its issues.
“I’m hopeful that Jared will be collaborative with our industry in moving this forward. When I talk to him, he does remind me of a lot of the young, scrappy entrepreneurs that I invest in in their 30s.” Benioff told the Post.
This effort has been developing since shortly after the inauguration, the official said.
Trump's daughter Ivanka, who is married to Kushner and has a West Wing office but no official job, will get involved on issues she is focused on, such as workforce development.

Poe quits Freedom Caucus in aftermath of failed ObamaCare overhaul

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas

The fallout over House Republicans' failed ObamaCare overhaul bill continued Sunday when Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, resigned from the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Poe intended to vote in favor of the bill and personally told President Trump last week that he would support the measure.
“To deliver on the conservative agenda we have promised the American people for eight years, we must come together to find solutions  to move this country forward," Poe said in a statement. "Saying no is easy, leading is hard, but that is what we were elected to do. Leaving this caucus will allow me to be a more effective member of Congress and advocate for the people of Texas. It is time to lead."
Poe resigned hours after President Trump called out the Freedom Caucus and conservative groups Club for Growth and The Heritage Foundation for not supporting the measure.
“Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!,” Trump tweeted.
On Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., canceled the final vote for the ObamaCare replacement bill after concluding he didn’t have enough support despite the chamber’s GOP majority.
Ryan was purportedly about 20 votes short of the requisite 216, amid strong opposition from the chamber’s conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has 30 to 40 Republican members. Several moderate House Republicans also did not support the bill, written by Ryan and his leadership team.
In the days leading up to the planned vote, Trump suggested those who wouldn’t support the overhaul bill could lose in their 2018 reelection primaries. And in a closed-door Capitol Hill meeting last week, the president made clear to Freedom Caucus leader Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., that he would hold the congressman responsible if the bill failed.
Trump and Ryan spoke Saturday and Sunday. Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said the leaders spoke Saturday for roughly an hour about “moving forward on (their) agenda” and that their relationship is “stronger than ever right now.”
Strong also said Trump made clear Sunday that his tweet earlier in the day had nothing to do with the speaker.
“They are both eager to get back to work on the agenda," she said.

Schumer jumps at chance to work with Trump on health care, other issues

Eric Shawn reports: Health care, take two

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer jumped at a chance to find common ground with President Trump on coming up with a solution to a new health care bill Sunday as Trump’s aides opened the door to working with moderate democrats on health care and other pressing issues.
Schumer, D-N.Y., said Trump must be willing to drop attempts to repeal Barack Obama’s signature achievement, warning that Trump was destined to “lose again” on other parts of his agenda if he remained obligated to appease conservative Republicans.
“If he changes, he could have a different presidency,” Schumer said on ABC’s “This Week.” "But he's going to have to tell the Freedom Caucus and the hard-right special wealthy interests who are dominating his presidency ... he can't work with them, and we'll certainly look at his proposals."
Trump turned the blame for the failure of the health care law from the Democrats to conservative lawmakers Sunday, tweeting: "Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!" The bill was pulled from the House floor Friday in a defeat for the Trump, having lacked support from conservative Republicans, some moderate Republicans and Democrats.
Trump aides made it clear Sunday that the president could seek support from moderate Democrats on upcoming legislative battles ranging from budget and tax cuts to health care, leaving the door open on possibly revisiting new health care legislation.
White House chief of staff Reince Priebus scolded conservative Republicans, explaining that Trump had felt "disappointed" with a "number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't."
"It's time for the party to start governing," Priebus told “Fox News Sunday”. "I think it's time for our folks to come together, and I also think it's time to potentially get a few moderate Democrats on board as well."
The health-care bill’s failure caused a ripple effect in the Freedom Caucus.
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, resigned from the group. Poe intended to vote in favor of the bill and personally told Trump last week that he would support the measure. He resigned hours after Trump’s tweet.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the Freedom Caucus, told ABC’s “The Week” that he was doing a lot of “self-critiquing” after the health care defeat. He insisted the GOP overhaul effort was not over and that he regretted not spending more time with moderate Republicans and Democrats "to find some consensus."
Much of the blame has been directed at the conservative group and its roughly 35 members, after House Speaker Paul Ryan realized that he didn’t have enough support for the bill in the GOP-led chamber and canceled the final vote Friday.
Ryan purportedly needed about 20 more votes, mostly from Freedom Caucus members and a handful of GOP House moderates.
Trump and Ryan spoke Saturday and Sunday. Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said the leaders spoke Saturday for roughly an hour about “moving forward on (their) agenda” and that their relationship is “stronger than ever right now.”